Each year, thousands of residential fires are caused in the United States by the ignition of mattresses and bedding, resulting in hundreds of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in property losses. Heightened awareness of fire prevention has led to the development of standards and regulations directed to the reducing the likelihood that such fires will occur. One approach to reducing the likelihood of residential fires is to use flame-resistant fabrics as flame barriers in mattresses and bedding.
Conventional techniques for preparing flame-resistant fabrics include the use of inherently flame-resistant fibers, the chemical treatment of fibers or fabrics with flame retardant chemicals, and the incorporation of additives into the fiber matrix as the fiber is formed. Examples of inherently flame-resistant fibers include polyester fibers, polyaramid fibers, melamine fibers, and polybenzimidazole fibers. Chemical treatments include the impregnation or topical application of heat dissipaters (e.g., aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide) or free-radical quenchers (e.g., chemical compounds containing boron, phosphorous, nitrogen, antimony, or halogens). Additives that may be incorporated into the matrix of the fibers include some of the aforementioned chemical compounds, and silica as sodium silicate.